By David Fortier
At a special meeting last evening, Monday, Nov. 25, the city council voted to move forward with a letter of intent to purchase land abutting the Hoppers-Birge Pond Preserve off Perkins St.
“We’re very bullish about the grant application,” said Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano after the city council emerged from an executive session.
The council voted unanimously to approve the letter of intent, which would require the city to come up with 25 percent of $560,000 included in the proposal. A grant from the state is critical to fulfil the arrangement.
The deadline for the grant is Monday, Dec. 2, and the grant is close to completion, according the Caggiano.
The property had been purchased by local builders, P & B Properties, earlier this year for $400,000, with the intention of developing the 10-plus acres into a 16-unit open space project. The builders have pulled back from the project to allow for the city to purchase it and absorb it into the Hoppers-Birge Pond Preserve.
The sale price would not only include the original purchase price but also the associated costs the builders have accrued over time for work that has gone into their open space proposal, including contracting the services of land surveyors and other experts for reports and plans, including engineering reports.
The property off Perkins Street is contiguous with the preserve and includes rare geological features, such as kettles and eskars along with some historical events, anecdotally, tied to the American Revolution.